Conventional methods for collecting highly functional cells from the living body include, for example, methods of collecting hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells, which harvest bone marrow fluid from the bone marrow of a long bone or pelvic bone by directly inserting a needle into the bone marrow, and for administration to human, concentrate a stem cell population by centrifugation, and collect and confirm fluorescently labeled cells with a cell sorter using stem cell surface markers as an indicator; methods of collecting peripheral blood stem cells, which mobilize hematopoietic stem cells to peripheral blood by administering G-CSF, collect peripheral blood and isolate hematopoietic stem cells from the blood; and methods of collecting mesenchymal stem cells, which isolate mesenchymal stem cells by collecting adherent proliferating cells from a direct culture of bone marrow fluid, or isolate and culture mesenchymal stem cells from surgically harvested peripheral tissues such as adipose tissues. However, harvesting bone marrow fluid from the bone marrow is highly invasive and painful, and involves risk of myelitis due to intramedullary infection. Thus, the treatment requires highly strict medical management by experts, and cannot be conducted frequently. Surgical harvest of peripheral tissues also has the same risk. The mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells using G-CSF poses a large economic burden, and also cannot be frequently conducted.
It goes without saying that establishment of efficient and safe methods for collecting biologically functional cells will be encouraging news for many patients that suffer from intractable diseases and are in need of such cells.